


when the wind goes the other way

by yesravenreyes (notsmokingcamellights)



Category: Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/F, Future Fic, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 14:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21210299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notsmokingcamellights/pseuds/yesravenreyes
Summary: For the first time in her young life, Dorothea Arnault is disastrously single at the annual Garreg Mach ball--so naturally, a dance with the future Adrestian emperor didn't seem like such a bad idea.





	when the wind goes the other way

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Thanks to Nikki @belivets who never got tired of me yelling about these two! And to you, for appreciating the best ship in FE3H--no shade.
> 
> Follow and tweet me at @_basedgodlisa!

“What could they possibly talk about?” Dorothea asked from where she was, head perched nonchalantly on the shoulder of the only other person who happened to be completely dateless at the Garreg Mach Annual Ball. She looked up at Edelgard from their shared cocktail table and stifled a chuckle. Dorothea knew Edelgard too well, and the Black Eagles house leader was doing a poor job of not looking like she was bored out of her wits trying to make sure that if anyone was truant, it wouldn’t be one of her housemates.

Still, Dorothea knew she’d humor her. She watched as Edelgard began to squint at the singular slow dancing form that became of Sylvain and Ferdinand, who looked too enamored with each other to bother being less discreet. “Probably how good-looking they are compared to the rest of us?” Edelgard guessed, shrugging her decidedly Dot-less shoulder. “Their family lineages would take up a good hour of discussion just between the two of them. How they could train together after classes will probably come up after. I don’t know. Noblemen seem like dreary dates.”

“The Lady Edelgard’s judgmental tone intrigues me,” Dorothea replied, amused. Edelgard only raised an eyebrow in reply, and at this, Dorothea couldn’t help but tease. “It’s as if you have some experience in the field.”

Edelgard smirked, eyes still on the two dancing men. “If by experience, you mean countless arranged dates I had to sweet talk my way out of, then I’ve got plenty.”

“Do tell!” Dorothea exclaimed, shifting her head away from Edelgard’s shoulder and excitedly leaning in. Sylvain and Ferdie just started whispering sweet nothings to each other, and frankly, Dorothea would be happier cleaning off Manuela’s bread crumbs from the professor’s room than look at the two another second. “I mean, I’m sure noblemen are about twice as dim as commoner men are, due to them having had to go through puberty before knowing how to dress, and vice versa.”

Ah, there it is, Dorothea thought to herself, and she couldn’t help but let her gaze linger, just a little. The Lady Edelgard wasn’t one to laugh at anything, even at Caspar’s hilarious pranks, so any attempt of hers that got Edelgard to even chuckle slightly counted as a win for herself. Dorothea kept this to herself, but she loved how mellow Edelgard’s laugh was compared to her otherwise commanding tone, how her eyes would crinkle when she genuinely found something amusing. Dorothea wondered for a split-second if any of the noblemen Edelgard disdained so much dreamed of making her laugh this way.

“I just remembered one of them,” Edelgard replied, smiling. “He was twice my age, and still couldn’t dress himself if his life depended on it. He’s a good example of the stock I had to deal with, just to please Lord and Lady Von Hresvelg.”

“I don’t pray to the goddess very often, Edie,” Dorothea said, as if this was something Edelgard didn’t know yet. “But I do pray you never quite make them happy. Who else would bother getting us out of here?”

Edelgard turned to Dorothea, her demeanor becoming slightly more serious. “You could, I think,” she pondered. “Our housemates would follow you everywhere.”

“Nonsense,” Dorothea chuckled, shaking her head. “You think too highly of me.”

“I would,” Edelgard smiled, and Dorothea could almost hear her heart stop. “We believe in the same things after all.”

Dorothea has witnessed this little dance her heart has done, and she knew how best to handle it. Take, for example, the moment her heart raced a tad bit when just a month prior, Sylvain caught her eye in the hallway and gave her the briefest wink. But with Edelgard, the heir to the Adrestian empire, her heart was racing quite a bit more than that, and it would be foolish of Dorothea to give in this time. After all, who was she at the end of the day, compared to the woman next to her?

Dorothea knew precisely how to deal with her troublesome heart--and that was to deflect its cries, to silence them. “Listen Edie,” Dorothea said. “I couldn’t lead a revolution any more than I could find a date for this archaic tradition, so I’d have to disagree with you there.”

“What happened, by the way? If you don’t mind sharing,” Edelgard asked, her expression suddenly concerned. “I was positive that I’d have to supervise our housemates by myself, as I do every year.”

“I’ll make things more interesting for you,” Dorothea replied, gesturing to Ferdinand and Sylvain once again.

It took a few seconds for Edelgard to understand what she meant, but the second she did, her jaw had to drop. “You weren’t thinking of going with Ferdie--”

“Correct!” Dorothea exclaimed, nodding approvingly. “He would treat me too well, I’m afraid, and I wouldn’t want to devastate him, in the end. It had to be the other one.”

Edelgard leaned back, crossing her arms and looking at the two men in a new light, “I never would’ve guessed. It’s not like the two of you were…” she struggled to find the words, blushing slightly. “...extravagant with your affections.”

“I could hardly call them affections, Edie.”

“Really? Sylvain?”

“He may be a bit of an airhead, but the man certainly knows what he’s talking about,” Dorothea smirked, sighing. “And we were always discreet.”

Poor Edelgard seemed to grow more confused by the minute. “So, when did all this start?” she asked, gesturing to the two men again.

Dorothea only shrugged, the picture of indifference. “I don’t know, Edie. I was only told this morning. At least he gave me the courtesy of telling me beforehand.”

Edelgard let something like an angry sigh escape her, and shook her head at the both of them. “I hope my staying with you doesn’t...aggravate...I mean.”

_Edie, I wish I asked you instead._

“Don’t fret about it,” Dorothea smiled, laying a hand on Edelgard’s forearm, hoping that the dim lights of the cleared out dining hall triumphed over her pink cheeks. “Besides, dancing with anyone wouldn’t seem worth it if Manuela didn’t sing the final song of the night.”

_I’m lying. I’m lying through my teeth._

Edelgard only blinked at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, Edie?”

“I mean… Manuela has been singing for a good half minute or so just now…”

It hit Dorothea like an unguarded spell, and she suddenly recognized the familiar cadence of Manuela’s voice cradle the room. Dorothea could only sigh and massage her temples, absolutely bewildered that Edelgard’s presence affected her this much. “Manuela won’t let me hear the end of it,” she sighed.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” Edelgard replied, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Here’s the thing,” Dorothea began to explain, her expression showing utter defeat. “Manuela insisted that I dance with my date whenever she started singing. Fortunately, she has a good three songs in after the final song, and I don’t think even the goddess herself can stop her from sneaking those in. Unfortunately for me, this is my first dateless dance and she won’t let me hear the end of it for a good month or so if I don’t manage to dance with someone.”

Dorothea looked forlornly over at Sylvain’s general direction and said, “I don’t even want to dance anywhere near him.”

“And why’s that, Dot?”

“He’s going to…” Dorothea attempted to explain, hands gesturing wildly. “You know, preen the way he does. Except in a more annoying way because he knows I’ll be watching him.”

“And this is why I don’t date,” Edelgard said, shaking her head. “I mean, you could dance with me instead, but I wouldn’t want to subject myself to his preening either.”

Right as Manuela hit the highest note in her life lasting a measure and a half, Dorothea had a brilliant idea. She turned to Edelgard and smiled. “I think there’s a way we still can.”

\--

Dorothea could’ve looked at how the stars above Garreg Mach were shining as brightly as they ever have, or how the moon seemed effervescent, twice its size that night and as full as it could be. But how could she, when all she could notice was Edelgard’s bright laugh and her loveliest smile, as Dorothea spun her beyond the dining hall entrance and in between its windows. It was a brilliant and effective compromise, after all. She would only notice the following day, but a certain Sylvain Gautier would not cross Dorothea’s mind for the entirety of that night--no, it could only be Edelgard.

“Okay, we have to go two windows backward,” Dorothea smirked. “I think a friend of ours needs a little help.”

Edelgard craned her neck to see Caspar struggling to dance with Bernadetta, who only seemed to grow increasingly flustered by the minute. “She looks like she’s about to bolt out of his arms any second,” Edelgard mused, wincing a little at Caspar’s awkward, uncoordinated outline.

"Follow my lead," Dorothea whispered, leaning into Edelgard just before sweeping her quickly to the general direction of their friends.

Edelgard let out a small yelp, but this didn't stop her from promptly disengaging herself from Dorothea's arms to let Caspar know a thing or two.

"It's a two-step dance, Caspar!" Edelgard yelled, much to his surprise and that of his date's. "Let Bernie lead! It's meant to be danced with the smaller partner leading!"

"I have no idea why you're out there!" Caspar replied, not letting go of his grip on Bernadetta's hand and waist, lest he let himself get absolutely confused all over again. "But I'm determined not to mess this up, so thank you!"

"Just relax Bernie, you can do it!" Dorothea quickly chimed in to a blushing Bernadetta. It took more than a few measures, but the two couldn't help but gush over the progress that was made, just as Manuela's song was about to come to a close.

Edelgard's smile gradually disappeared, and she looked to Dorothea in a mild panic. "The dance is almost over. We didn't get to finish it!"

Dorothea pursed her lips and let her mind race over the notes she knew so well. "We have three and a half measures left," she replied. "'Til the best part, at least."

"The best part?" Edelgard asked, right before being swept into Dorothea's arms again.

_Don't mess this up, Dot,_ Dorothea thought, just as she dipped Edelgard at the exact touch of the song's final note, perfectly in sync with her fellow students in the dining hall interior.

Dorothea was vaguely aware of them applauding themselves and their partners, ready to part and retire for the night. But she knew she was too enraptured, too exhilarated to join them—not while Edelgard was also this breathless, not while Dorothea could see - with her heart beating as loudly as any song - the light of the moon reflected on Edelgard's eyes as she held her gaze.

"That was…" Dorothea began, not knowing how to end.

"Something," Edelgard mumbled, as if in a trance. It took all of Dorothea's willpower to not lean in the way she wanted, as close as she wanted to when she heard Edelgard laugh under the moonlight for the first time.

Ever the proper lady of course, Edelgard came to her senses a few seconds later, laying a hand on Dorothea's shoulder and straightening herself up again on her own two feet.

"Well, I," Edelgard began, clearing her throat. "I'd like to thank you for… turning this night around for me completely. I was certain that I would spend it alone."

"Me too," Dorothea smiled, even though she noticed that Edelgard had some difficulty following her gaze. "I mean, I hope you didn't mind missing out on the dining hall festivities."

"What are you talking about?" Edelgard asked, smiling back. "Would you rather the both of us coach Caspar from inside the hall while Bernie promptly died from embarrassment?"

Dorothea shrugged. "I mean, we wouldn't have to yell," she replied, and there it was again, that laugh that drew Dorothea ever closer to the girl she's always wanted.

“It was definitely the most memorable dance I’ve ever had at least,” Edelgard smiled, brighter than she’s ever done all semester. “Thank you for that, Dot.”

“It was my pleasure Edie,” she replied softly, wanting more than anything to reach out and touch the other girl’s hand. “Now that the dance is over though, I mean… you probably have somewhere to get to.”

They both knew this was far from the truth.

“Yes, I mean,” Edelgard laughed awkwardly, suddenly at a loss for what to say next. “I don’t exactly know where that will be yet so I’ll probably just… figure it out later, I guess.”

"Right! Same here," Dorothea replied curtly, already beginning to feel a familiar warmth spread across her cheeks. Because she couldn't say anything further, she sent a rare, silent prayer to the goddess for the nighttime, as it seemed that it was too dark for Edelgard to notice a thing.

A few painful seconds passed before the two decided to speak once more.

"I don't ha--"

"I mean, I don't have to go back exactly!"

"I was hoping some other--

"--we could stay out, maybe, I don't know--"

"To a place I really know you'd come to love as much as I have!"

Sometimes, Dorothea's ability to blurt out her exact thoughts favored her--it never did when she spat out sarcastic comments to her more elitist classmates, but it certainly seemed to favor her when it came to Edelgard.

"Wait, what is this place?" Edelgard asked, eyebrow raised.

"I mean, it's a rather old place, Edie," Dorothea sighed as she began to nervously fiddle with her uniform. "Haha! I don't even know why I suggested it at this hour. You've probably been somewhere much nicer, and I--"

"I highly doubt that," Edelgard replied, clearing her throat. Suddenly, she couldn't seem to meet Dorothea's eyes. "I'd happily go anywhere that means this much to you."

Dorothea suddenly felt too happy to restrain the smile that spread across her face. "Even at this hour?"

"That's settled, then!" Dorothea sighed happily, subtly grabbing Edelgard's hand. "You'll get lost on the way if you let go. Trust me."

"Oh goddess, especially at this hour!" Edelgard replied, laughing nervously. "I haven't been to many parties that I actually had fun at, Dot--much less a party that had something interesting to look forward to once it was over. Because--"

"Of your terribly boring noble responsibilities, yes. I understand Edie," Dorothea giggled. "So you'd follow me?"

"I said I would, wouldn't I?" Edelgard smiled, and Fódlan be damned, Dorothea swore she saw a hint of pink bloom across the other girl's cheeks.


End file.
